


The kidnapping

by KirinandVlindertje



Series: Symbiosis [2]
Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Abduction, Gen, Kidnapping, Misgendering, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-10 21:56:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5602486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirinandVlindertje/pseuds/KirinandVlindertje
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jessica and Esran have only been together for a short while, but their relationship is starting to work out. This has resulted in Jessica becoming quite different outwards, which unfortunately has led her parents to believe she needs to be cured of whatever is happening to her. They send her far away against her will. But Esran needs to go to the pool soon so they need to escape as soon as possible. As soon as Sarah hears about this, she sets up a rescue action, which will take a lot more out of her than she expects.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Aisha

My name is Aisha. I'm the second eldest in a family of thirteen. My big sister Jessica is only a one and a half months older than me. As you can guess, one of us is adopted. That would be me. And seven of the other kids in this household. It's a pretty good household actually. Mom and dad are loving, up to a certain limit though. And I was about to find out what happened when you went past that limit.

It was around midnight when I heard them. Strange voices accompanied by mom's and dad's voices. They went up the stair to the attic, to Jessica's room. I climbed out of bed.

“What are you doing?” Evelyn whispered.

“I need to see what's going on.”

She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don't. I'll tell you what I know.”

I looked at her. Or where she was lying. It was too dark to really see her. “What do you mean, what you know?”

“We didn't tell you because you were close to him and you might not understand it. But there's something wrong with him. Ever since he joined that sharing group, he's been behaving strange. And Mom and Dad even found pictures of him dressed as a girl in his room. So they are going to send him away for a while, so he can become normal again.”

I really hoped Evelyn couldn't see my face now. I crawled back into bed. Not because I agreed with what was happening but because I couldn't stay standing. This just couldn't be happening. I didn't know everything that happened at the Sharing but I knew it was where Jessica had a chance to be herself. To be happy. And they were going to take that away from her. I wondered if they had also found my Quran while they were looking around in her room. Would they think it was hers or would I risk a similar punishment?

I heard them coming down again. Was Jessica with them? I couldn't know for certain. They went further down and out of earshot. It was too late to do anything now.

I couldn't get back to sleep that night. It showed the next morning. I nearly forgot my lunch at home. I nearly fell asleep in Mr. Tidwell's class, he's probably the strictest teacher you'll find about these sorts of things. I avoided my friends. I just couldn't talk to them. What was I supposed to say? “sorry I look like a zombie, but I didn't sleep last night because my parents stole away my big brother, who is actually my big sister, in the dead of the night and I'm also worried I might face the same fate?”

At lunch I didn't even use the lunch I nearly forgot. It was pizza day. And I needed something greasy and unhealthy to make me feel better. I found a single free space next to a large group. I was still avoiding my friends. I hadn't counted on the happy banter of the group. It drew such a stark contrast with my feelings it just made me feel worse. I wasn't just in a ditch anymore, they were next to me on a hill, having all carefree fun in the world.

“Come on, Mai, you gotta come help us out. You're good with this decorating stuff. We could really use your help. Even just a bit.”

“I'm sorry, but I have a Sharing event after school that I must attend.”

I shot up. “You're a member of the Sharing?”

Mai shrunk down. “Uhu.” She nodded.

I realized I was looming over her as if I wanted to attack her. I backed off a bit. “I'm sorry. I just need to talk to you for a bit. It's important. In private though. Is that okay?”

“I guess.” Mai followed me to the bathroom. Her timidness reminded me a bit of Jessica. All that changed once we were in the bathroom though. It was the purest Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation I had ever witnessed.

“What do you need to talk about?” She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and staring intently at me.

In all my enthusiasm of realizing that the Sharing could perhaps help I had forgotten to think of a way in which they actually could help. The Sharing was large with thousands of members. There was no guarantee Mai even knew Jessica all that well. Jessica had certainly never mentioned her.

“It's about my sister Jessica. She's in trouble.”

“Jessica, Jessica? I don't think I know her. Is she a member too?”

“Yeah she is. I'm not though.” Where to take the conversation from here? The only member I knew Jessica had mentioned was Sarah, maybe try from there. “Do you know Sarah then?”

“Could you be more specific? I know multiple Sarahs.”

“Uhm, she's African American, has long black curls over an undercut.”

“Oh that Sarah, yeah I know that one. Shall I pass her a message? What kind of trouble is your sister in?”

“She's been kidnapped.”

I don't know if there was a third character to the Jekyll and Hyde story, but if there was, Mai had just summoned them.

“When did this happen? Is your sister a full member?” Mai was no longer hanging back, she was close to me now, touching my arms. She was still staring though, but it wasn't the cold stare from before. This was more compassionate and a little fearful even.

“I think she is. It happened this night.”

“Do you have something to write?”

I searched around in my backpack for pen and paper. Mai was urging me to hurry. She quickly scrawled down two numbers.

“Call Sarah here first,” she pointed at the first number, “If you can't reach her there, try here. Tell her everything you know. And hurry! Skip school if you have too.”

Mai seemed more fanatic about this than me right now.

“If she's not found in the first day, chances become slim of finding her.” She added. But it didn't sound genuine. It was more off an afterthought. It was something else that had gotten her riled up. I didn't ask about it. I could always do so after Jessica was safe. Maybe Jessica would even know.  


	2. Aisha

Skipping school was remarkably easy. Just act like you know what you're doing. And run when they don't buy it anymore. I don't think any of the teachers bother to keep in shape. I guess it's another one of those “do as I say, not as I do” things that adults keep pushing on kids. I ran for a few blocks, then slowed down to a walk, but kept going for a bit longer to make sure no one was going to find me. I kept going till I found a fastfood restaurant. It wasn't very busy. That's because nobody goes eating in the early afternoon. Especially not young girls like me.

“Do you have a payphone in here?” I asked one of the waitresses.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” She stared at the door behind me.

“No, yes, it's my sister who's in trouble.”

“Come with me. We have a phone in the break room you can use.” She led me through an employees only door into a minuscule room. It was filled up with a tiny table and two chairs on one side and a counter with a coffee machine and a microwave on the other. There was a phone hanging off the wall.

I called the first number and got the answering machine. It might have been a funny recording if I wasn't so stressed out. “Sarah if you're there please pick up. It's Jessica she's been kidnapped. Come on please pick up.” I was about to hang up when I heard the phone switch over.

“This is Sarah. Who am I speaking too?”

“It's Aisha, I'm Jessica's sister.”

There was a short pause from Sarah's side. “Can you come over here? Do you know where I live?”

“No”

She gave me her address, told me to come as quickly as I could and hung up. I jotted down the address.

“That where you need to go?” The waitress was looking over my shoulder.

“Yeah.”

“Come on kid, I'll give you a ride.” She pulled out her keys. I was getting a bit wary of her.

“I don't even know your name.” I said.

“It's Rachel, I'm 23 years old and I'm always willing to help out a young girl in trouble cause there was no one there for me and I know how shitty that can be. Girls gotta stick together.”

I was taken aback a bit by how different she sounded now from earlier. Guess her offer was better than having to walk over there alone. Her car turned out to be a third hand Volkswagen beetle. I wondered if it would even start.

“Want a smoke to calm your nerves, kid?” Rachel held out a pack of cigarettes.

I looked at them and then her in disbelief. “I'm only thirteen.”

“So? I started at fourteen. And if you're dealing with something like a kidnapping you're old enough to smoke.”

I shook my head.

“Your loss.” She lit up one for herself. Then she started the car without any problems. It was only a short ride to Sarah's place, less than ten minutes. Still I was glad I didn't have to walk that distance.

“Hey kid,” Rachel said as I was getting out, “You're a good kid, I hope the world is kind enough to you that you can stay good.”

Sarah lived in a modern apartment complex. She buzzed me in and I took the elevator up to the top floor. Her apartment was minimally decorated, making it seem very roomy. The largest piece of furniture was the book case immediately on the left of entering. Further on the left, against the opposite wall there was a couch corner. In between them was a low table with pillows around them. To the immediate right there were the doors to the bathroom and bedroom, and on the further right there was a kitchen corner with a counter. Between the kitchen and the couch corner, on the far wall stood a lone cupboard with an aquarium on top.

“Do you want something to drink?” Sarah asked.

“Just some water.”

Sarah gestured at the low table. I sat down on one of the pillows. It took some adjusting to get comfortable.

“Not used to sitting on the ground I see.” Sarah joined me carrying two glasses and a bottle of water. She poured in a glass and handed it to me. “So, tell me what has happened.”

I related what happened last night and my concerns about it. I also told her about how I got here. She just sat there and listened, sipping her water.

“So Jessica is gone and only your parents know where. But since they know it can't really be reported as a kidnapping to the police. What a mess.” Sarah stood up. “Don't worry though. You did good by coming to me. I'll make sure we save her.”

“thank you.”

“But I do need to ask you for something. I need you to stay here at my apartment until we get Jessica back. Can you promise me you'll do that?”

“Why would I need to stay here?”

Sarah sighed. She took my hands. “Listen, Aisha. I don't want you anywhere near your house, or more specifically your parents while we work to get Jessica back. That's why I want you to stay here.”

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She was going to do something to my parents. Maybe torture them or something. I shouldn't have mentioned that only my parents knew where she was. Could I warn them about what was to happen? If I stayed I could call them. But then what? If Sarah found out what would she do to me? I wouldn't have anywhere to go.

“If you're worried about your parents, they'll be fine. We won't actually harm them. We're just going to scare them a bit. Don't you think that's acceptable? Think about how scared Jessica must have been when they took her.”

That did sound more reasonable. It didn't really sound like I had a choice though. So I just agreed.

Sarah acted quickly after I had given my approval for whatever she was planning to do. It started with phone calls, several of them. The more I heard her talk the more I was worried the Sharing was actually a front for the mafia or something. It only renewed my fears for what was going to happen to my parents. And my siblings.


	3. Sarah

I could spot my reinforcements as soon as I turned into the street. Two black vans with darkened windows. Not very inconspicuous.

<Well if you think there's a better option you should explain it to Visser three.>

That was Salam. She had to actually speak into my brain for me to hear her thoughts. On the other hand she could just read my thoughts as if she was having them herself. So she talked a lot into my thoughts, to keep us synchronized as it were.

Normally she would control my body too, but she felt like this was something I had to handle. It felt weird. Having her in control of me had become so natural it almost felt like I was missing a part of myself. A sense of warmth and belonging welled up in me. Salam letting me know that she was there, that I wasn't alone.

<Thanks> I said.

Four men had gotten out already, two from each van. I got out as well and greeted them.

“How many men have you brought?” I asked.

“Six per van, plus us. That's sixteen. Plus you is seventeen.”

“Good. You two come with me. You stay halfway as a relay and you stay at the vans in case we need the reinforcements. I'm hoping to resolve this without resorting to violence. If it does come to it, I don't want any deaths. Set your dracon beams to setting two. We need them alive.”

“How many people in the house?” One of my escorts asked.

“Up to eleven. We only need the two adults though. The children are still small. I hope to leave them out of this. I will do the talking. Don't act unless I give the order.”

We had reached the front door. I just ringed the doorbell like I wasn't planning on ruining these people's lives forever. A young boy opened up.

“Hello.” He said.

“Hello,” I replied, “my name is Sarah. Is your mommy or daddy at home? I would like to talk to them.”

“Mom!” He yelled. “Your hair looks cool.” he then said to me.

“Why thank you. I like it a lot too.”

An woman came to the door then. Pulled it open a bit more.

“Yes? Who are you? What can I help you with?” She asked.

“My name is Sarah. I was hoping we could have a little talk. In private.” I glanced at the boy.

“Andrew go upstairs to your room.”

“But, mom ...”

“Andrew. Now.” She was curt, like any parent who realize something bad might be happening. She had noticed the two men standing besides the door opening. And probably the vans as well. But she wouldn't do something that would endanger her child. So when I offered safety, she took it. People are remarkably easy to manipulate. I watched the little kid saunter to the stairs.

“So, now that we're alone, let me introduce myself a little better. I am a member of the Sharing.”

“So you're one of those people who's been filling my son's head with those vile thoughts.” She spat out the words.

I was startled, but not by her words, but by Salam in my head. <Acknowledge the irony of that. Come on Sarah this is a golden opportunity, don't let it slip by!>

“No.” I said. It was meant both for Salam and Jessica's mother. “Your daughter has made these decisions all on her own. All we did was listen.”

“You know nothing about him.” She tried to slam the door shut, but I held it easily. Salam had me on a work out schedule. It wasn't that much, but more than what this woman ever did.

“Please don't make a scene out of this. You wouldn't want your children to get mixed up in all this?”

“Go away before I call the police.” She didn't know what an empty threat she was making. There was a police car patrolling not too far from here. A car with two controllers in it. They would be the ones to respond. And they would side with their fellow controllers of course. But I had no intention of getting them involved. I still had another option available.

“Speaking of your children. Do you know where Aisha might be?”

You could see the stages on her face. First there was remembering. Then thinking, going over the possibilities. Then the disgust of the realization. And finally defeat.

“What do you want?”

<Sarah, are you sure about this?> Salam was butting in again. She could see what I was thinking, what I was planning. But then she should understand it too. She could read my feelings clearly.

<Your feelings might not always be the best way to make a decision.> She added.

“I need you to come along with us for a short ride. It won't take long. You should be back before supper.” I had said it. The decision was made.

“And Aisha?”

“She will be safe. You have my word.”

She didn't seem wholly convinced, but what choice did she have? She meekly came along to the vans. Right then a car pulled up. The man started to ask what was going on as soon as he got out. Probably the father.

“Honey, they got Aisha. Please don't make this worse than it already is.” Definitely the father.

He looked us over. “So you're the people who tried to steal my son away. I won't let you have him.”

He didn't seem to care about Aisha. Which was disgusting and a problem.

“You want us to leave your child alone?” I asked. No point in playing strong with him.

“I want you to leave my son alone.” He stressed the son part.

“Sorry, your son.”

His demeanor got a bit better. So easy to play.

“I must apologize though. I had heard that you were okay with him coming to the Sharing. Had I known that you were this opposed to it, we wouldn't have welcome him like this.” I said. “But I do feel that maybe you do not fully understand what the Sharing is about. With your permission we would like to show you. Then you can make a better judgment about this all. And we would of course honor this judgment. Does this sound reasonable?”

It of course didn't matter how reasonable it actually was. As long as he saw it as a proper appeal to reason. Praising his rationality and offering him a position of power was so easy. He was likely going to demand some concessions to show that he was in charge. And I would grant them and he would come along.

“Okay you have one hour. And I am driving. And I don't want those vans following us.”

“Of course.” I walked up to one of the controllers. “See, I told you your presence here would be unnecessary. But thank you for coming anyway. It was very thoughtful of you.” I hugged him. And in the meanwhile I slipped my car keys in his pocket. “School entrance” I whispered in his ear.

“Well, you people better go now. I'll see you later.” I said.

I got into the car with Jessica's parents. We watched as the others got into the vans and drove off. Her Father waited a bit longer to make sure they were gone.

“Where to then?” He asked.

“I guess we best go to the school. We do a lot of things in a lot of places, but I think this will be most relevant for you.”


	4. Sarah

The ride to the school was calm. Which was odd. I was expecting to be overtaken by my Mercedes at some point. But I still had my own dracon beam to fall back on should the need arise. The only people in the school at this point would be the controllers who were there to visit the pool. I guess I could use them to carry down their stunned bodies. I was getting tired of coming up with lies and manipulations, I doubt I would be able to get them into the pool just by that.

<It might have been easier just asking Jessica's mother where she was.> Salam said.

<Maybe, but I don't know if she would have told, or if she would have told the truth. Esran doesn't have much time. We can't go around on a wild goose chase.>

<Keep telling yourself that. Eventually you'll believe it.>

“So what does the Sharing do at this school?” Jessica's father asked.

I waited till we were inside to start my explanation. Take it one step at the time.

“Oh a lot of things. Mostly a lot of extracurricular events and classes. Such as sporting events or drama classes. We help organize and cater them so that they are as accessible as possible. But the most important thing is something we do in the background, but for you, I'll show you.”

I led them to the closet where the yeerk pool entrance was.

“This is a janitor closet. Do you guys also keep the school clean?” He use that aggravating mocking tone.

<This guy is making it really hard to feel sorry for what you're about to do to him.> Salam again.

“No, much more fascinating.”

I stepped inside and left the door open. After putting in the sequence, the hidden door slipped open. Jessica's parents were fixated on the door and the stairs. Much too fixated to see me taking out my dracon beam. They didn't even know what a dracon beam was, but they were smart enough to see when a weapon is aimed at them.

“What in the world?” Jessica's father put up his hands, not that I had asked. Just one of those reflexes people develop in this world.

“The answers to who we are, are down there.” I nudged my head towards the secret door.

They hesitated. I got impatient. I aimed at Jessica's mother and fired. On a low setting. Still the effect was pretty gruesome. She fell. She was screaming. There was a singed patch where the beam had hit her. It was mostly her clothes, but since they were made of some synthetic material they could melt into the skin. I hoped that wasn't the case. Either way, yeerks had better medical technology than humans.

Jessica's father stared at me in disbelief.

<Sarah!?> Salam wasn't happy with my modus operandi either it seemed. But she had said that I would handle things. And she wouldn't come back on her word. Even if she did take control again, there was little she could do now, other than go on with what I had started.

“Pick her up and carry her down. We have good doctors down there.”

There was a bit more hesitation, but he complied. He couldn't walk very fast. I hoped he'd be able to carry her all the way down. It was a rather long way after all. Half way down he stopped. We had entered the underground dome where the pool complex was located.

“What is this place? Who are you people?”

“Keep moving, I'll explain everything when we're down.”

Jessica's father Started moving again. He seemed to have given up resisting. All the better. Though I suspected it would come back once we were actually down. Some other controllers must have spotted our approach. At the bottom of the stairs three Hork-bajir controllers were waiting.

Jessica's father Hesitated. Not an uncommon reaction for someone seeing a Hork-bajir for the first time. Or a second time; Or third time. They were seven feet tall dinosaur-like creatures. They had a long neck and a bird-like beak. They had rear paws like a tyrannosaurus and a tail. Their arms were strong and muscular. But above all, they had blades growing from their tail, knees, elbows, wrists and neck. They looked like horrible killing machines. And that's what the yeerks used them for.

“It's okay.” I reassured him. “They are here to help. Give them your wife. Normally she should be able to stand up again.”

She was. With the help of two Hork-bajir at least. The last Hork-bajir grabbed Jessica's father. They were being led away to be infested.

“Wait a bit.” I said. “I promised to at least explain to them what was happening. So here is the short version. We are yeerks. We live in the brains of other species and take control of their body.” I pointed at the pool. “that is where we go to feed.” I pointed at the cages. “that's where we store our host bodies when we're feeding.” I pointed at the infestation pier. “that's where we take control of our hosts. And that's also where you two are going.”

Jessica's mom was in disbelieve. She kept whispering no, shaking her head.

“So this is what you did to my son?” Jessica's father asked.

I looked him in the eye. “No. We didn't do anything to your daughter. She chose this herself.”

“You're lying!” Jessica's father was now in disbelieve too. “My son wouldn't agree to something like this! You're just lying.”

“Infest them. Take the female to the medical center afterwards and let the male report to the debriefing room. We need information from him.”

The Hork-bajir dragged them off. One screaming and one crying. I headed for the debriefing room, get settled in there already and clear my head a bit.

<So you're done being cruel to them?> Salam asked. But she knew the answer. She knew I wasn't really satisfied yet. No matter how bad I was feeling, I wasn't done with them yet.


	5. Sarah

The debriefing room was deserted. It isn't used very often. Most of the important long range communication was done from the pool ship and the personal communication happened everywhere from offices to homes. There was only a slight buzzing from the holo generator on standby. It must be an older model. Many of the things around here were. It was always as if earth wasn't good enough to send the new stuff over. Salam remained notably silent. She normally has a quip about thoughts like this.

<Are you alright?> I asked her.

<Aside from the fact that you sentenced two people to become controllers, against their will, I'm totally fine. No wait, scratch that, you also shot one of them, so I'm absolutely ecstatic.>

Sarcasm from Salam was bad sign. A really bad sign.

<Oh I'm not mad. I'm just a bit confused as to why you think it would be a good idea since our objective is to form a peaceful coexistence between humans and yeerks that doesn't rely on one party enslaving or exterminating the other. Just seems a tad bit contrary.>

<And what if Esran died? What if we got there too late and they find a new yeerk for Jessica? one that isn't willing to cooperate? One that betrays us? Then what? It would be the end of us; Of our dream.> I countered. Of course, Salam had already long read it from my mind and came up with an argument against it. Discussing with a yeerk was a frustrating thing.

<And what if Esran had decided to betray us. Every time we bring someone new in, there is a risk to us and our dream. And yet we still do it. Because it's the right thing to do.>

<And what about Jessica and Esran, do we not have an obligation to protect them as best we can? We brought them into this? Do we not have a responsibility to them?>

<And you would help her by taking away her parents? You hope that Jessica will understand your decision. But I'm sure she won't. You're not protecting her, you're hurting her.>

<Her parents brought this on themselves. What do you think happens in those … camps like the one where Jessica was sent to? Go on look into my mind and see what happens there. At least when I infest them they still exist. They sent her there to destroy her, to destroy what makes her her. If they are so willing to destroy another's freedom, why should I bother to respect theirs?>

<Who are you and what are you doing here?> That wasn't Salam's voice in my head. There was only one who could talk into people's heads like that: Visser three. Visser three was the only yeerk who had ever managed to take an andalite body as his host. And since andalites don't have a mouth they use thoughtspeak to communicate.

“I am Salam five-three-eight.” I said with my normal audible voice.

<Sulp Niaar pool> Salam added.

“Sulp Niaar pool” I echoed.

Whatever disagreement we had, it had to be postponed until after we dealt with Visser three. He was the general, the leader of the yeerk invasion on earth. And he was well known for his temper and his frequent beheadings of underlings that displeased him. And since we were underlings, we had to make sure not to displease him.

<Go and get him girl, you can do this. After all, you're more of yeerk than I ever was.> That was low of Salam. So very, very low. Just ignore her for now.

“I am waiting for a new controller. The human was involved in the kidnapping of a controller, so we need to get all the information out of him. I only just brought him down here, the Hork-bajir are infesting him now. I was going to do the information extraction in here.”

<And who is in charge of this operation?> Visser three again.

“I am” I stated firmly. “I know that I do not hold a high rank, but this is an emergency. The yeerk that was kidnapped is near the end of it's feeding cycle. I did not have time to go through the official command chain.” Best to show confidence and determination, rather than let it slip that I do not want someone else to attempt to rescue them. Because then I would get the question “why?”.

<I shall watch your interrogation then.> Visser three said.

That was not the response I had expected. It was better than being decapitated, though I couldn't be sure that it wouldn't still happen. I needed something to say, but I couldn't think of anything. Right then Jessica's father walked in. He stopped and stared at Visser three. Of course every yeerk knew the visser's reputation.

“Come in. Sit down.” I commanded.

He tiptoed around the visser and took a seat. I sat down in the opposite seat.

“So, here is the issue. Your host has recently sent away one of his children. This child is a controller. We need to know where this child is now.”

The yeerk was quickly forthcoming with the information. Who did the kidnapping, their program, how it was done and most importantly where they had taken Jessica and Esran. They were taken halfway across the country. Flying there, reaching the actual camp, saving them and getting back, it would take too much time. Unless.

“Visser three, I request authorization to use two bug fighters to execute the rescue operation.”

<No.> It was worth the shot. <We shall use my blade ship. I shall see how you deal with this.>


	6. Aisha

I had to stretch my legs a bit. Sitting cross legged at a low table is not as comfortable as it sounds. I had already done my homework, in as far as there was homework. Skipping half a day meant half as much homework. I promised Sarah I wouldn't leave the apartment so I just paced around a bit. And looked around while I was at it.

The thing that baffled me the most was the aquarium. There were no fish or turtles or plants or anything alive in it. It was just an aquarium with some murky water that gave off a kind of bad odor. Maybe it was some kind of alternative art thing.

The book case was far more interesting. There was no fiction there. The bottom three shelves were stacked with books about psychology. They had titles ranging from the obvious, such as “The Basics of Psychology,” to more elaborate titles, such as “Why everyone is wrong: an analysis on the influence of past and contemporary prejudices on the field of psychology.” Above that was a shelve with religious books, the bible, the Quran, a book on African religions and philosophies, a book on Efik mythology, a book on Igbo, a book on voodoo, a book on Hinduism, a book on Buddhism, comparative books on religions. Mom would have had a fit if she saw all these books.

Mom. My thoughts had brought me back to why I was here in the first place. I checked my watch. It should be supper time by now. I was getting a bit hungry myself even. Sarah had said I could eat one of the microwave dinners from her freezer. I had never used a microwave before but it seemed simple enough. The dinner box had instructions clear enough that even Jessica would be able to follow them flawlessly.

Ten minutes later the 'ding!' signaled that my food was ready. I put it on the counter that separated the kitchen corner from the rest of the apartment. The stool I sat on was a bit high, but it was better than sitting on the ground. And so I started my dinner. Alone. I couldn't even eat half of it. I was too upset. I missed everyone. Thomas and Hope one uping each other about what they learned in school that day. David acting like he's the man, and John jokingly playing along with it and Mathew making actual jokes about it. Marie and Evelyn keeping Andrew and Peter entertained with silly stories. Mom and dad talking about mom and dad stuff. And Jessica, eating quietly and methodically. I usually joined in with David, John and Matt.

I was lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. It was white, like ceilings often are. I wish I could be with them again, talk to them again. Would there even be a them if Sarah was done?

Talk to them? That maybe I could do. Sarah had told me to stay in the apartment, but she never mentioned anything about using the telephone. I punched in the number and waited for the someone at home to answer.

“This is David.” I heard from the other side.

“Hey David. It's me, Aisha.”

“Aisha? Where are you? Are you alright?”

“I'm fine, I'm safe. I can't really tell you where I am at the moment though.”

“That doesn't sound like safe to me.”

“Listen, is mom or dad there?”

David was quiet for a moment.

“No we don't know where they are.” David said. My heart sank. “Aisha, what's going on here?” He asked after a moment.

“I'm not sure.” I said. “I may have told some people of the sharing that Jessica was kidnapped.”

“Jessica? Who's Jessica? What does she have to do with all this?” David sounded genuinely confused. I had messed up though. I had used the wrong name. It took a moment for it all to click in David's head.

“So you did know. Why didn't you tell us?” He said.

“I promised her I wouldn't.”

“And that worked out well didn't it?” The accusation stung.

“I didn't ...”

“You didn't know that they were going to take away mom and dad? You didn't know that all this was going to tear our family apart? You've got some good insight there, Aisha. I think I'm done talking to you.” At least David was still David with all this topic and conclusion jumping.

“Wait, before you hang up.” I said

“What is it?”

“Could I talk to Hope? I'd like to hear about her day.”

David sighed. “Very well then.” I heard him yell for Hope, it took about a minute for her to come to the phone.

“Hello?” she asked. Hearing her sweet voice was so reassuring. I had to fight my tears.

“Hey, Hope, It's Aisha.”

“Aisha! You weren't there for dinner. We missed you.”

“I'm sorry, but I had something important to do. So what did you have for dinner?” I asked.

“Mom and dad had to go somewhere important too, so David ordered us all pizza. I got a pepperoni one.”

“And did you eat it all by yourself? An entire pizza?”

“No, I shared with Thomas and Evelyn.”

“That's good, sharing is important. Since I wasn't there today, I didn't hear what you did at school today. Could you tell me what you did?”

And she told me. It felt good. A little speck of normalcy in this weird day.

“Well it's time for me to say goodbye now,” I said after Hope was done.

“Bye bye Aisha,” she said.

“Bye, bye. And don't forget to brush your teeth before bed.”

“I won't.”

“You won't what? Brush your teeth or forget?”

“I won't forget.”

“that's good. Could you put on David again?”

The switch was immediate.

“Listen,” he started before I could say anything, “I'm sorry about being so angry before. I've just been dealing with this situation and it's really frustrating. And when I heard it might be your fault I just lost myself a bit. But you're also a part of this family and I hope you stay safe. Okay?”

“Thank you. And I'm sorry if I caused this, I just wanted to help Jessica. She's a part of this family too.” I said.

“Whatever. I gotta go now. I hope you'll be back soon.” David hung up.

At least they were all safe. Even if mom and dad weren't. Even if I wasn't. What a marvelous prison this was. No bars, no guards, no locks and still I couldn't leave.


	7. Sarah

We were all aboard the Visser's blade ship. Me, Salam, Visser three, Jessica's father. That last one wasn't really part of the plan. He should be going home to his family, together with his wife. And their two yeerks of course. They were controllers now and that wasn't about to change. Though they weren't my primary concern. Salam was. She had been rather quiet. Like she was making an effort not to interfere with me, to not be noticed by me. Guess I had to find something else to do. Like talk to Jessica's father and his yeerk.

“So, we need to have a word about what to do after we have rescued Esran and her host Jessica.”

“Who is Jessica? I thought we were looking for this man's son?” The yeerk in Jessica's father's head said. We were standing near the back of the bridge

“They are one and the same. Search that man's memory for the reason they decided to send him away.”

“Because he was dressing as a girl and they wanted to correct that behavior.”

“She is a voluntary host and being treated as Jessica rather than a boy was her request. In the eyes of the Sharing and any yeerk she is a girl. Since we are now also in control of their family as it were, she should be treated as such at home too. Is this clear?”

“Yes, just use female indicators for this person and the name Jessica, correct?”

“Indeed, there might be other small things, but you will be informed by Esran about these.”

Well that was one thing settled. The yeerk had accepted Jessica as Jessica. Now time for the host, Jessica's father.

“Now listen here Michael,” I started, “You don't have a son. You have a daughter. Her name is Jessica and no force in the world can change that. And no matter how much you might disagree with it, how much you hate it, from now on, you will treat her as such. The yeerk will make sure of that.”

<What are you doing?> Visser three had just entered as I was giving my talk to Jessica's father.

“Just tormenting the host a bit.” I explained.

Visser three looked at Jessica's father.

“The host does feel rather upset by these words,” he said.

<Explain.> Visser three looked back at me.

Explain? I wasn't sure I could. I wasn't even sure what Visser three even understood about humans, if anything at all.

“It is kind of long and complicated.”

<I have time. In fact we have exactly forty seven minutes left. So explain.>

I guess I had no choice. And Salam wasn't any help either. Where to even start? I had to explain what trans people were, how families worked, how bigoted humans could be. I guess I could start with the explanation on trans people. Then again, he might not have enough knowledge to properly grasp that. And what would he do if I wasn't clear enough? Is not being clear enough a decapitatable offense?

“Well, humans are generally regarded as a sexually dimorphic species. This plays a very important role in their social system even. However, there are some variations on this dimorphism. One such variation is trans people. They are humans who are in essence one dimorphic class, but have outward characteristics of the other class. Since humans base their division into these dimorphic classes on outward characteristics, these people are treated as the wrong class, and are expected to behave as this class. This can lead to great distress for the individuals who are trans.

“The host we are going to rescue is such a trans person and has asked to be treated as the proper dimorphic class in exchange for hosting a yeerk. We agreed to this of course. The problem is that not all humans consider these variations valid and believe that these humans should conform to their class as assigned on outward characteristics. This host is one of them.” I pointed at Jessica's father.

“Furthermore, humans place great importance on their offspring, and due some prejudices the importance of male offspring is considered more important than their female offspring. So this host expects the host we are rescuing to be male and is very attached to this male status. However as she is trans, she is in fact female. Pointing this out to him causes him great distress as he feels he has lost his important male offspring.”

I hoped I explained it well enough. Visser three was silent and motionless. Which is better than yelling or decapitating at least.

<What pointless things these humans engage in. We'll just get rid of that when we're in control.>

I wanted to say something, but decided against it. Shouldn't call any suspicion to myself. I had to prepare for the rescue operation anyway.


	8. Sarah

From the sky and on the scanners it looked like a normal camp. One where you'd send your kid to in the summer and they'd have a blast. If your child is of course the kind that enjoys camps. I doubt someone like Jessica would have enjoyed camps, even if they were benign. My family never had enough money to let me go to one. I wondered what actually happened there. You do hear stories about them, but experiencing it for yourself is still quite different. After all stories get filtered through peoples enjoyments and frustrations; boring parts are omitted, fun parts inflated, bad parts trivialized. Though which part gets which treatment could vary with who was doing the talking. Some people were pessimists after all.

“The scanners show three large structures and five smaller ones. Two of the large structures have signs of life forms in them, as do two of the smaller structures. One of the smaller structures shows traces of active electricity consumption.”

The Hork-bajir making the report obviously had no idea what all of this actually was to humans. Three dorms. A boys and girls dorm and one for the staff. And a building for the people of the nightshift.

“Are there any humans patrolling or outside?” I asked.

The operator focused the scanners. “There are two humans outside on what seems like a patrol route. Not a very efficient one. There are many openings where one could slip through.”

Of course there wouldn't be a tight patrol. Just enough to make sure no-one tried to run away. There wasn't anywhere they could even run to. The nearest town was almost ten miles away. But you could only get there if you didn't get lost in the woods. To anyone in the camp, it would seem like a hopelessly isolated place. There was always a psychological component to any prison. Abandoned and cut off from the world was one of the common ones.

“Another one just came out. He seems to be making fire. Lighting something sticking from his mouth on fire.”

Someone went outside to smoke a cigarette. He seemed to be the most isolated. A good target for what I was planning.

<Salam, I know you're not really talking to me, but I will need you for this.>

<Okay.> A simple enough reply. She knew what I was planning.

“Take us down and as close as possible to that person who just got outside. I'll go and I'll take two Hork-bajir as back up. They should stay hidden unless something goes wrong. We don't want to spook or alarm them.” I declared out loud.

<Approved.> Visser three said.

“Maybe I should be the one to go,” the yeerk in Jessica's father said, “I'm her legal guardian after all. They should hand her over to me if I just asked.”

“And what if they ask you how you got here? You can't just appear out of nowhere and expect people to just roll with it. This isn't a negotiation we're going to conduct. It's a raid.”

That seems to have shut him up.

<If we could have just asked to return her, why are we doing this raid?> Visser three looked at me.

I looked at Jessica's father in return. “Tell him.”

He hesitated for a moment. “It seems that the official procedure to request her return would take at least two and maybe even as many as four days. By that time Esran would be dead already.”

“Of course we could always take a gamble and hope that the host returns to us willingly. She voluntary after all.” I added.

<Out of the question.> Visser three said.

“And that's why I proposed this raid.”

<Very well. Do it.>

Not long after that I was on ground with two Hork-bajir. I ran as silently as possible to the building where the man was smoking. I hoped I wasn't too late and he had already gone back inside. I peered around the corner and just saw him tossing away his cigarette bud. I had to move quickly.

Letting him hear me now wasn't much a problem. As long as he didn't make it inside. I just walked up to him. A steady pace. He didn't seem to hear me. Or he didn't care. Who would expect an attack here after all? A few seconds later I had him pinned against the wall, arm twisted on his back. I held my ear against his.

<Salam go.> I said. But she was already on her way. I could feel her slip out of my ear. A bit later the man stopped resisting.

“I'm in control.” Salam said. I released her. Salam didn't move though. I had expected her to go retrieve Jessica and take her back to the ship as soon as possible.

She looked at me and I saw a slight hesitation. “It seems Jessica isn't here.”

 


	9. Sarah

“What do you mean she isn't here?” I asked Salam. We had moved away from the buildings a bit. And we were whispering so the Hork-bajir couldn't hear us.

“I think she has escaped. Let me back inside you, before we attract to much attention. They can see us on the scanners you know.” She looked towards the Hork-Bajir. “We'll go to them. They can hold the body while I return. You'll have to kill him after I'm out.”

Kill? I wish Salam had given me a bit more time or explanation or anything really. But she was already walking towards the Hork-Bajir. I follow, trying to make myself look as meek as possible. After all, I wasn't supposed to be a confident yeerk anymore in their eyes, just a puny host.

“You two,” She addressed the Hork-Bajir, “Hold this body so I can switch back to my host.”

“Sarah, put your ear against mine.” She commanded then.

“Yes.” I leaned in. Soon I could feel Salam slip back into my ear. I knew what I had to do. I took out the dracon beam. Made sure it was set high. Lifted it up. Aimed it at the man. He was squirming in the Hork-bajir's iron grip. Pleading for his life. Of course he had heard what we were going to do to him. He tried to negotiate. I was still aiming at him. He promised he wouldn't tell anyone what he'd seen. He was even crying. All I had to do was pull the trigger. The man had given up it seems. He was just crying and softly whispering “no”. My finger twitched. The man transformed into a cloud of atoms, scattered in the wind. Had I fired? I don't remember firing.

<You were hesitating too long.> Salam said. So I hadn't actually shot him, Salam had.

<It's harder than it seems, killing someone, isn't it?> She added.

She seemed to have had no problems with it though. I signaled for the ship to pick us up.

<I've got a lot more experience with this than you. Also I can bypass your normal human aversion to violence and killing one of your own kind. You should not feel bad about not being able to simply kill someone. It's a rather admirable trait.> she said.

That was kind of an awkward way to comfort someone. Still it was nice she was talking to me again.

<So what about Jessica?> I asked.

<Well the person's memory does show she arrived here. However she was taken away by another one of the staff members earlier this evening.> Salam said. <Which is against their normal procedures and methods, I would like to add.>

That sounded like someone took control of the staff member. A yeerk probably. Like Esran.

<Yes, that's the most likely explanation. Still we can't be sure about this.> Salam said.

As unlikely as it was, there were indeed some other possibilities. People sometimes did some weird things. The chances of finding them before Esran died would be slim if they didn't want to be found. If Esran was in charge she would certainly head for the pool as soon as possible.

<So we head back to the pool then and wait for them?> Salam asked.

<What information do you have about the staff member who took Jessica? We can have police and other controllers be on the lookout for them. Just to be sure.>

<I got a name and a physical image. Also some information about family. However I doubt it will help us much. They are too far away, our reach doesn't extend this far yet.>

<We don't need to reach this far. If we file a request with the police they can spread it all over the nation. Especially if we issue an arrest warrant. We have enough people in the police department to make this happen don't we?>

Salam was quiet for a while. <I guess we could do this. But I doubt we'd be able to rescue Esran with this though. But you're not that concerned about Esran at the moment. You want to make sure Jessica is safe first and foremost.>

She was right of course. I was expecting Salam to give me a lecture on the importance of respecting the yeerk as much as the host, but it didn't come. It was quiet in my head again. I guess I had to board the ship and deal with visser three alone again. I found him in the bridge.

<Well?> He asked.

“It seems that she has escaped on her own.”

<How?>

“We are unsure, but most likely Esran has taken over one of the people in command of this place and used that power to flee, taking her host with her. She will most likely try to return to the pool as quickly as possible. We could just wait there for her to return.” I was slightly trembling. The words unsure and could and likely weren't really words that people in power liked to hear. And I doubt visser three would be the one reasonable exception. All I knew pointed to him being the completely ridiculously unreasonable exception.

<And if she doesn't return?> His thoughtspeech was very pressing. Still it wasn't as bad a reaction as I had feared.

“Then Esran will die. We have enough information on her current as well as former host to have them apprehended by this nation's police force. As far as information leaks would go, most people would not believe any statements about aliens either may make. To further enhance this, we could include statements discrediting the mental sanity of the hosts when we pass on the information to this nation's police force.”

<Then why don't we simply have them apprehended that way?>

“Because the human protocols for transferring prisoners are slow and would result in the death of the yeerk Esran. It is still very likely that she is trying to make her way back to the pool right now. If we have them apprehended by this nation's police we would guarantee her death for no benefit. She has less than a day until she would die from kandrona starvation, so if she has not returned by then, we can have the police forces apprehend the hosts.”

<Very well.> Visser three said, <you have performed admirably on this issue. Decisive and with a good analysis of the situation. However, leaving your host unattended like that was an unnecessary risk.>

I felt I had to say something. I had been silent before, but I felt like now was a good chance to speak up.

“It wasn't a risk.”

<What was that?> Visser three sounded full of rage, his tail dangerously close to my neck.

“This host is perfectly domesticated. Her purpose is to be my host. She never would have done anything that could compromise that.” I didn't flinch once. I was even trying to stare him down, but visser three isn't really the kind of being that gets stared down.

<Is that so?> There was tiny sparkle of joy in his eyes. It was so much more unnerving than any angry stare he could have mustered. <Then you won't have any problem leaving your host right here and now.>

<You better know what you're doing.> Salam said as she started disengaging from my brain. Soon she was in my hand, helpless as a yeerk can be.

<Hold out your yeerk.> Visser three commanded.

“Yes, Visser.” I held out my arm, presenting Salam to him.

His tail twitched. I closed my hand. Covered it with my other. Pulled it closer to my body. The vissers tail made a gash on my arm. It was quite shallow for an andalite tail. I only noticed cause I saw it dripping blood. Too much adrenaline was in my system right now.

<Ha... hahahahahaha>

Was visser three, laughing? I stared at him, and I wasn't the only one. All the crewmembers who had been nonchalantly eavesdropping on our conversation were now outright staring at the laughing visser.

<Marvelous. Put your yeerk back in your head, host.> He then turned to his crew. <And you, stop slacking off. We could have been half way back by now.>

So the crew turned back to work. Visser three turned around and left for his chambers. And I just sat there, dazed. When did I even sit down? With a trembling hand I brought Salam back to my ear. She slipped in like usual. Soon my body felt calmer. Not just that, but the pain from the cut felt far away. Salam had taken full control of my body again. It felt so reassuring.

<Congratulations, Sarah,> she said, <You have just gained the approval of visser three, a creature so evil that not even the devil would want to deal with him.>


	10. Aisha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates. I hasn't been a very good month for me unfortunately. I'll try to do better in February. In the mean time. Enjoy this chapter.

Strangely enough, Sarah didn't have a tv at her apartment. I didn't know there were still people like that. I had resorted to reading one of her books. “A billion things in our galaxy,” it was called. It was interesting, but a bit above my level. There were a lot of physical formulas and calculations in there, most of which I skipped. The best part of the book wasn't actually the book, it was Sarah's remarks and notes in the sidelines. It was funny how there appeared to be two sets of notes arguing with each other. Yet they both were in the same handwriting and pen so it seemed like Sarah was arguing with herself in the margins of the book.

I put the book away when I got to the chapter on planetary formation. It was well past midnight already. Strangely enough, I wasn't feeling as tired as I should be. I felt a little dull. And anxious. But not sleepy. I settled in the couch near the window and stared out of it. The lights of the city drowned out most of the stars. Still there were some visible. I just sat there, letting my thoughts flow away as much as possible.

“You're still here?”

I hadn't heard Sarah come in. I nodded. “You said I had to wait here, didn't you?”

“That I did. Are you going to finish that?” She pointed at the half eaten microwave dinner that I left on the counter. I shook my head and she popped in the microwave for a few minutes.

“Honestly, I didn't really expect you to stay all this time. I thought you'd try to escape or make a run for it. There wasn't really anyone or anything keeping you here.”

“But, you were going to do horrible things.” I hadn't been really sure what kind of things though. My mind didn't work like that, I just couldn't imagine torturing people. The very thought of people being tortured in some way made me queasy and disgusted.

“I don't remember actually saying that.” Ding! She took out the meal and dug in. “Though I can see where you might have gotten that idea. I'm sorry if I scared you.”

“What did you actually do? I called home earlier and mom and dad weren't home. What happened to them?” I asked.

She chewed and swallowed before talking. “Nothing really. I tricked them into coming with me by claiming we held you captive.”

“Which you actually did.” I interrupted.

“More or less. So then we interrogated them and found out where Jessica was. And then we went and rescued Jessica which we actually couldn't since she had already escaped on her own. Oh, and I also instructed your parents on how to deal with Jessica's situation, so she should be free to be herself at home from now on.”

I just stared at her for a while. I couldn't believe my ears. Jessica breaking out and mom and dad changing their minds like that? This was just too weird.

“Oh and they should be home again by now. Normally we would have sent them home earlier, but there were some complications.” Sarah continued. “I can drive you home now if you want.”

A part of me wanted to say yes. And another part no. It was scared. “I don't know,” I said.

“It took you way too long to answer that question. Something's wrong isn't there? Tell me about it.” She said.

I didn't want to talk to her about it though. She was the cause of everything that was going wrong. She was the one that convinced me to stay here. She the on that talked mom and dad into coming with her. She was the one who talked mom and dad into changing their minds so drastically. Who knows what she talked Jessica into over all the time she knew her.

My eyes drifted back towards the book case; to books on the lower shelves. Tittles I had glossed over at first. “The psychology of obedience”, “Applied behavioral therapies”. I didn't need to see anymore. My stomach turned.

Sarah was on me almost immediately. “Are you okay?” She put her hand on my back.

“Don't touch me!” I didn't want her anywhere near me. She backed off a bit. Thank god for that.

“I want to go home.”

Sarah let out a sigh. “Very well. Why don't you go freshen up for a bit while I clean this up? I'll drive you home right after that.”

It wasn't really a question though. Just a polite suggestion. I guess that was fair. I threw up on her couch after all. I nodded and went to the bathroom. I started by looking in the mirror. I looked awful. Like I hadn't slept in days. Which I hadn't really. I spit out the leftover puke into the sink. Or maybe it was just saliva with puke taste. Doesn't really matter, it was gross and I needed it gone. I took a bit of water to rinse my mouth.

I splashed my face. It didn't really help all that much. My stomach still felt weird. But it was a different weird from before. It took me a moment to put it together. But the math checked out. I hurried to the toilet, hoping to for once not ruin what I was wearing. But it didn't come. Why did my body always have to be so contrary. Guess I had no choice.

“Uhm, Sarah!” I called out, “Do you have any pads?”

“Bottom drawer.” She yelled back.

I wanted to ask which closet, but there was only one with drawers in the bathroom. It wasn't too far from the toilet. I got up, my jeans still at my ankles, and scooted closer. Sarah had only one package of medium duty pads. Which was odd. Guess it had to do for now. After scooting back and putting the pad into place I was back at the sink. Washing my hands. Rinsing my mouth. And again. Washing my face again. Sarah was washing her hands too when I exited the bathroom.

“Good to go?” she asked as she dried her hands.

She had taken off her blazer. And now I could see the bandage around her arm.

“This?” She held up her arm. “Don't worry about it. I'm fine.”

It wasn't her I was worried about though. Something had happened, something dangerous. Were my parents really okay? Was I going to be okay? But staying here would be just as dangerous. Rather take the option that might get me home. I grabbed my backpack and checked if everything was in there.

“Lets go.” I said.

 


	11. Aisha

Driving through the city at night was boring. Everything seemed so pale. I hated the silence in the car. But I hated the thought of having to talk to Sarah too. Sarah decided for me.

“So, I'm getting the distinct impression that you hate me. Could you please tell me why?” She used that I am driving, but I can still talk tone.

I didn't want to reply, but Sarah kept pushing me; Telling me it was okay to yell. Until I finally did.

“Because you're destroying our family! That's why!” I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

“I'm sorry. How have I destroyed your family?”

I was taken aback by her answer. I struggled to find the words. “Well you kidnapped my parents. Do you have any idea what that did?”

“I only did that cause you asked me to help. So actually you're the one responsible for whatever happened to your parents.”

I … that wasn't true. I had just done it to help Jessica, hadn't I? But Sarah sounded so sure. No this was what Sarah does, manipulating people.

“I only did that to help Jessica. Which I wouldn't have had too, hadn't you manipulated her.” I said.

“Manipulate Jessica?” Sarah let out a sigh. “I suppose I have. But only at her request. So is it then really manipulation?”

“Yes, it is. You changed who she is.”

“But you can not honestly say that was a bad thing. After all, you're still using her chosen name.”

I was silent. I hated this. If what Sarah said was true, then who was to blame? If everyone did everything right, then why did it all turn out this way? I was nearly crying, I threw up in disgust. Was this all meant to be? That couldn't be true. There had to be a reason it all turned out like this. My tears were now flowing freely. Why were things this way?

But I didn't get an answer. All I heard was “we're here.” I looked outside. It was my neighborhood, but everything was colored in grays and darks. It looked like home, but it didn't feel like it. I started to wipe away my tears. I didn't want anyone to see them. But it was obvious I had been crying, even without the tears.

Sarah waited patiently for me to get out, then marched to the front door. She rang the bell and waited once more. I joined her on the porch. It was cold outside. I started to shiver. Why wasn't anyone answering? Finally there were signs of life coming from the inside. A light was turned on and footsteps came up to the door. Then the unlocking of the door. I faintly heard “It's Sarah and Aisha.” from the inside. The door open and there was dad. He looked normal enough. Not beaten or harmed. At least not as far as I could see.

“Aisha's home again. Safe and unharmed, just like I promised.” Sarah said.

Dad just nodded and stepped aside to let us in. So far he also acted normal enough. Mom was more emotional, she came up to me and hugged me.

“I'm so glad you're safe,” she said.

The hugging was a bit much, but I had never been kidnapped before. During the hug I heard dad talking to Sarah.

“So is she …?” He asked.

“No. And I don't think it's necessary,” Sarah said, “If there are any problems, call me and I'll sort it out.”

“Very well. Any sign of Jessica yet?”

“No, I'll go wait at the pool for her.” she said.

That didn't sound like dad much. Calling her Jessica, had my parents really accepted her?

“Is something wrong?” Mom asked.

Of course there was, but how was I going to tell them? What made you change your mind about Jessica; How did Sarah change you who you are; Are you even my parents? And the question that scared me the most of all: Is this a good or a bad thing? I just couldn't ask any of those.

“I am exhausted,” I said. It wasn't a complete lie at least.

“Then you best get to bed now.” Mom said.

So I did. And I could feel all three staring at me as I went up the stairs.

 


End file.
